What can Anarchists do today?

This page is a work in progress. The intention here is to provide practical guidance for those interested in a society with more freedom and less hierarchy. Learn about Anarchy. Definitions & Introduction and The Anarchist Reading List are places to start. Learn how to work with others in a voluntary way. Most of us are used to working in a world of hierarchy. We are conditioned to using force and coercion to get our way. To change to a cooperative way of working most of us have to unlearn patterns of behavior that are deeply ingrained. Question authority. As Noam Chomsky says, "... it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom. That includes political power, ownership and management, relations among men and women, parents and children, our control over the fate of future generations (the basic moral imperative behind the environmental movement, in my view), and much else. Naturally this means a challenge to the huge institutions of coercion and control: the state, the unaccountable private tyrannies that control most of the domestic and international economy, and so on. But not only these. That is what I have always understood to be the essence of anarchism: the conviction that the burden of proof has to be placed on authority, and that it should be dismantled if that burden cannot be met." --Noam Chomsky on Anarchism, Marxism & Hope for the Future This is not always possible given the authoritarian structure of most of the world. In areas where media is free it is often possible to question authority publicly. This can be dangerous as authority rarely welcomes confrontation. What works? Talk to others. Talk about what works. Talk about alternative ways of organizing work. Join an email list. Meet people in your community. Talk about anarchy with those who may not know much about anarchy. Confront the Media. When journalists and writers defame anarchists and anarchy, question them directly about it. Add cases to our anarchy defamation list . Voluntary Simplicity. The less desire you have for the things that that the money economy provides the less you are controlled by it. Not spending is a revolutionary act. For those items you do purchase, avoid companies that support totalitarian control. Informal Connections Boycott the Usurers. Avoid debt. Boycott corporate and government propaganda. Get news from non-corporate news sources such as A-Infos or The Progressive Review. When reading or viewing corporate media consider who is paying for it and the interests of those involved. Revolution and Violence. While anarchism has been associated with terrorism and bombings, it is probably the worst strategy for those interested in anarchist principles to be associated with violence. Violence is most often used by authoritarian structures to justify restrictions on freedom and the increase in totalitarian powers vested in an elite. A sign from the window of an Anarchist Bookstore in San Francisco provides insight into the use of force to change the social order: "You can't blow up a social relationship. The total collapse of this society would provide no guarantee about what would replace it. Unless a majority of people had the ideas and organization sufficient for creation of an alternative society, we would see the old world reassert itself because it is what people would be used to, what they believed in, what existed unchallenged in their own personalities. Proponents of terrorism and guerrillaism are to be opposed because their actions are vangaurdist and authoritarian, because their ideas are wrong or unrelated to the results of their actions, because killing cannot be justified, and finally because their actions produce either repression with nothing in return or an authoritarian regime." Participate in Politics. How good an idea is this? What works? Create a new vision for the Future. For the social order to change people must understand the change and where they fit into it. ANARCHY: The American Way - by Jim Shamlin POST-ANARCHISM ANARCHY - from THE ASSOCIATION FOR ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHY Where Are We Going? What is necessary before anarchy can become a reality? Is it possible to develop collective societies in the midst of capital? Add a comment to this page or contribute to the Anarchy Forum.